Obituary of Madge Pickens

MENDHAM - Madge Pickens of Mendham died peacefully on August 27, 2010 at Morristown Memorial Hospital. She was 83. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, September 11, 2010, at 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Mendham, 20 Hilltop Road, Mendham, N.J. 07945, with the Rev. Robert Heppenstall officiating. Arrangements are by the Bailey Funeral Home, 8 Hilltop Road, Mendham, N.J. 07945, (973) 543-4720. www.baileyfuneralhomes.com Born in Clintwood, Virginia, to the late William Oscar Deel and Alta Mae Roberson, she lived in Chester, Virginia, and Montvale, New Jersey, before moving to Mendham in 1970. Mrs. Pickens earned her B.S. Degree in Chemistry and Mathematics from Carson-Newman College in Tennessee in 1949, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She was chosen for "Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities" her senior year. Mrs. Pickens was a homemaker, devoted wife and mother. Her family will remember her as an avid reader and writer of poetry and prose. Birthday celebrations for her family and friends inevitably included a custom-written poem or verse, a tradition that her children, their spouses and her grandchildren continue today. Her other hobbies included bridge, bird watching, gardening, knitting and sewing. Many of the dresses she made for her daughters were also worn by her grand-daughters. Madge was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Mendham, where she enjoyed singing in the Choir for over 35 years. In addition to singing, her musical talents were shared with others as she played the piano and performed with her recorder ensemble. She taught countless children the piano, giving lessons in her home. A long time member of the Mendham women's tennis team, she played travel tennis well into her seventies. While attending Carson Newman, she met Donald Pickens, who she married on June 7, 1949. They were married for 61 years. Mr. Pickens died on July 25, 2010. Survivors include two sisters: Eunice Caroline Deel and Eileen Deel; three sons: David Norwood Pickens and his wife Mary Jean Guadadiello; Wm. Howard Pickens and his wife Patricia; John Carl Pickens and his wife Ann; three daughters: Ann Pickens Grayeski and her husband Frank; Kate Pickens Hutson and her husband Peter; and Margaret Pickens Showalter and her husband John, and eight cherished grandchildren: Justin, Katherine, Alison, Zachary, William, Chandler, Faith and Cole. Donations, in lieu of flowers, can be made in the memory of Madge Pickens to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10018.